Chol last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Chol is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Chol.

Meaning of Chol

A Korean surname potentially derived from the word "chol" meaning tray or plate.

Chol, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Chol surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chol in America

Chol is the 53802nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chol surname appeared 384 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Chol.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chol to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank5380296918-57.21%
Count38417475.27%
Proportion per 100k0.130.0673.68%

The history of the last name Chol

The surname CHOL originates from the Indian subcontinent, specifically from the Bengali region of present-day Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian state of West Bengal. The name's roots can be traced back to the 16th century or possibly even earlier.

CHOL is believed to be derived from the Bengali word 'chol', which means 'move' or 'go'. It is likely that the surname was initially given to individuals or families who were known for their nomadic lifestyle or frequent travels.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the CHOL surname can be found in the 'Ain-i-Akbari', a 16th-century administrative document commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The document mentions a village named 'Cholpara' in the Bengal region, which suggests the presence of individuals bearing the CHOL surname in that area.

Another notable historical reference to the CHOL name comes from the 'Rajmala', a collection of chronicles from the princely states of Rajasthan, India. These chronicles, dating back to the 17th century, contain accounts of a CHOL family serving as ministers and advisors to the rulers of the Marwar region.

Among the notable individuals with the CHOL surname, one can mention Syed Chol Khan (1674-1737), a renowned military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and later became the Governor of Agra. Another prominent figure was Jagat Chandra Chol (1801-1876), a respected scholar and author who wrote extensively on Bengali literature and culture.

In the realm of literature, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the renowned Bengali poet, playwright, and Nobel Laureate, had a character named Chol in one of his famous plays, 'Raktakarabi'.

Moving to more recent times, Khagendra Nath Chol (1892-1971) was a prominent Indian journalist and editor who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement.

It is also worth mentioning Bibhutibhushan Chol (1919-1988), a celebrated Bengali novelist and writer, best known for his seminal work 'Aranyak', which was later adapted into a critically acclaimed film.

While the CHOL surname is more prevalent in the Bengali regions of South Asia, it has also found its way to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chol

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Chol.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Chol was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only16.15%62
Non-Hispanic Black Only54.95%211
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only26.82%103
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin(S)%(S)

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Chol has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White16.15%16.09%0.37%
Black54.95%15.52%111.91%
Asian and Pacific Islander26.82%56.32%-70.96%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%0.00%(S)%
Two or More Races(S)%8.62%(S)%
Hispanic(S)%3.45%(S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Chol was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Chol, please contact us.

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